Kurdish Prodigy Shines at International Robotics Competition

 

By AVA HOMA

TORONTO, Canada – Kurdish-Iranian high schooler Soran Salimiyan beat a field of 300 competitors from 120 countries for second place in the prestigious International Robotics Competition, winning the young man a scholarship from Harvard University in the United States.

Salimiyan, from the town of Javanrud (Jwanro in Kurdish) in Iran’s Kermanshah province, was among seven Iranians sent to the competition in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, where first prize went to a student from South Korea.

Salimiyan qualified for his place on the Iranian team after topping the national competition. He is in the fourth year of high school, and from a young age demonstrated noticeable enthusiasm for computers.

Since ninth grade, he received specialized training in computers. He won the top place at his school and succeeded at the regional competition levels. 

Another Kurdish student from Javanrud, Rastgar Rahmani, also demonstrated great talent, topping Iran’s difficult and prestigious university entrance exam, or “konkoor.”

 Although from the small and impoverished town, Rahmani beat millions of students from more privileged cities like Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan.

Rahmani topped the exam not once but twice!

He was forced to re-sit the exam, after authorities said they were “suspicious” of his success.  In the second try, he also came out with flying colors.

Javanrud, which has an estimated population of around 50,000 and where the people speak the Sorani Kurdish dialect, has had other young students receive impressive konkoor results. Rastegar and Soran both come from lower middle class families.